She had been awake for less than an hour and already she was sure this was going to be a terrible day. She closed her eyes and wished the pain away. Her head was pounding; her fingers ran lightly over the large bump that had formed where she had taken the hit. Somehow the creep she had been tracking for almost three months had spotted her last night, she couldn't let him get away but before she could pull out her taser he had knocked her head directly into a wall, he had been clumsy and tripped trying to run, she was able to taser and zip tie him, and taser him again for good measure.
"Ya know V you wouldn't have gotten that love tap if you had called me, like you were supposed to."
"It's rude to lecture someone before coffee."
She smelled the sweet velvety scent before she felt the warmth of the steam, her eyes opened and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she saw the cup in front of her.
"Oh sweet nectar of the gods," she took a slow sip, her eyes widened slightly and she looked up at the man before her. "Is this what I think it is? Did you get me stumptown?"
He smiled back in response.
"Oh Weevil you are the best roommate." She sipped on her dark drink lovingly.
"Yea I know, but I'm also your partner V. You can't keep leaving me behind."
"I didn't know he was going to spot me ok, as far as I knew it was just another surveillance night, really I'm the victim here." She replied innocently.
"Surveillance or not, we go together, every time. That's the deal. I'm not playing around V, I promised your dad." He said softly. He knew how it would affect her, but it was important.
Her small delight was sobered at the mention of her dad. He had been sick a long time before he passed and even that had been two years ago, but it was still fresh. She had only been with the bureau for six months when she left to come home. He had been sick for almost three years already, she had no clue. He didn't tell her until there was nothing left to try.
She spent a year trying to keep him comfortable, and trying not to be mad at him for keeping such a big secret, but she understood; she would have done it to. They had tried to continue Mars Investigations, but that ship had long sailed, after the article about his cover up came out no one trusted him anymore. He lost business quick. He had hired Weevil on and taught him the trade, he was good at it. He kept up just enough to make most of the bills, but when Keith's cancer got worse nothing could save it. Veronica and Weevil had to close the doors just two months after she got home.
She did freelance here and there and gave out of town job offers to Weevil; soon those were the only offers they got, bounties. The progression made sense, and Keith found it both frightening and amusing in his last days. He had made them both promise to keep each other safe, and particularly he made her promise to always take back up. Those last few days had been the hardest in her life, she could see him fading away and there was nothing she could do about it. He had smiled a small laugh and whispered "Veronica the Bounty Hunter", he fell asleep and never woke up.
The memories slipped back into the vault that was her heart and she took another long drink of her coffee before looking up at Weevil.
"Point taken, I won't promise what we both know I can't, but I will try to not go after the big guys alone anymore. Just the small ones." She reached out her hand to him.
He looked at her smile, he knew this was the best he was going to get and laughed. He shook her hand. "Deal."